Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 40

“They would never do that,” Yuan Yao said firmly.

Nie Lie frowned. “Little girl, you’re still young. Don’t be so naive. While this old man was alive, I saw countless people slaughter one another over treasures. They killed relatives, friends, even those they loved. The human heart is impossible to fathom.”

Yuan Yao had never experienced such things herself, though she had read plenty of similar stories. Then she remembered the ten years she had spent with her fellow disciples and smiled.

“I trust them.”

For a moment, Nie Lie had no answer.

Seeing how absolute her faith in her senior brothers and sisters was, he stopped trying to persuade her. Instead, he said gravely, “Until you have mastered every last part of this Saint-grade sword manual, you are forbidden from telling anyone that you possess it.”

Yuan Yao met the old man’s stern gaze and nodded.

“All right.”

She knew Senior Nie Lie was only trying to protect her.

In that case, she would simply learn faster.

Then her Eldest Senior Brother and the others could start learning sooner too.

Yuan Yao patted her chest. “Don’t worry so much, Senior Nie Lie. Everyone in the Xiaoyao Sect is wonderful! Once we learn the sword techniques in this Saint-grade sword manual, we’ll make them famous throughout the world!”

“The Xiaoyao Sect?” Nie Lie raised a brow. The name sounded vaguely unfamiliar.

He searched his memories and finally recalled that, several centuries ago, a small sect by that name had indeed existed on the Ninth Continent.

He stared at her in uncertainty. “You belong to the Xiaoyao Sect?”

“That’s right.”

Nie Lie fell silent.

Such a tiny sect wanted to make his sword arts famous throughout the world?

Yuan Yao lifted her chin proudly. “Don’t worry. The Xiaoyao Sect is very strong!”

Nie Lie’s expression grew complicated.

“It will be enough if *you* become famous.” He had no expectations for that Xiaoyao Sect whatsoever.

After a pause, he could not help warning her, “No matter whom or what you encounter in the future, remain vigilant at all times. You must not die before your potential can bloom.”

“And while you remain in the Xiaoyao Sect, keep a low profile. The tallest tree in the forest is always the first struck by the wind. If you find a great sect willing to stand behind you one day, then leave the Xiaoyao Sect—”

“Senior!”

Yuan Yao cut him off.

Nie Lie looked at her in surprise. Her expression had become extraordinarily solemn.

“I will always belong to the Xiaoyao Sect,” she said, each word distinct. “I will never abandon it.”

The Xiaoyao Sect was her home.

How could she possibly cast aside her own home?

“Senior, I know you want what is best for me. But if becoming better requires betraying my sect, then I cannot do it, and I refuse to do it. One day, everyone will know that I, Yuan Yao, come from the Xiaoyao Sect of the Ninth Continent!”

Her words clearly shook Nie Lie.

His expression shifted several times before he finally smiled.

In life, he had seen too many people abandon their sects for resources or power. He had grown accustomed to it, until it seemed only natural.

To think that centuries after his death, a little girl would be the one to lecture him.

What a pure, untainted heart.

“Hahahaha!”

Nie Lie threw back his head and laughed.

“Good! Good! Very good!”

Light blazed in his clouded old eyes as he studied Yuan Yao.

“Then this old man will wager on you. I wager that you will hold fast to your first principles and make your name known beneath the heavens!”

Yuan Yao smiled, dimples appearing in her cheeks. “Since you place such trust in me, Senior, I will never disappoint you.”

Nie Lie stroked his beard with a pleased smile. “Then this old man can die without regret.”

After a moment, his gaze moved in a certain direction.

“Someone is approaching. Put away the manual and leave.”

Yuan Yao immediately stored the Saint-grade sword manual. Then she stepped back three paces and bowed deeply to Nie Lie three times.

“Thank you, Senior Nie Lie.”

He inclined his head.

In the next instant, the projection of his remnant soul began to fade.

Yuan Yao looked up at the enormous mountain one final time, then turned and departed.

Moonlight hung in a haze, dimming everything around her.

She walked onward.

Before long, several voices cursing up ahead reached her ears.

“Damn that Xiao Lingwei! How could she strike so viciously?”

“Does she think we’re afraid of her? We only fear her Master! One day, I’ll torture her until she begs for death!”

“Exactly! That little bitch actually dared act arrogant in front of us?”

Yuan Yao’s expression went cold.

System 250’s voice suddenly sounded in her sea of consciousness.

【Targets Zhang Zhengchu, Gongshan Yongyuan, and Cui He have Awakening Values of 0.】

Her mood worsened.

She was expected to win over people like these?

Yuan Yao was about to ask System 250 whether she could exchange them for different targets when an idea sprang into her mind.

Her lips curved at once.

Perfect. She could test whether violence truly could awaken people.

The footsteps and curses drew nearer.

Yuan Yao knew her cultivation was still too weak to confront all three head-on. Instead, she could prepare formations in advance.

She immediately got to work.

Once everything was arranged, she followed the activation method recorded in the *Heaven-and-Earth Formation Diagram* and formed one hand seal after another.

Hum—

The formation released a dazzling flash.

Yuan Yao’s heart sank.

Bad.

She darted into a patch of tall grass beside the road. The instant she disappeared into it, Zhang Zhengchu and the others arrived.

“What was that light?”

“Quick, let’s look!” Believing that a treasure had appeared ahead, Gongshan Yongyuan’s eyes shone with greed.

Cui He stopped him with an outstretched hand. “What if it’s a trap?”

Only then did Gongshan Yongyuan calm slightly.

“We’ll be careful.”

Zhang Zhengchu nodded. “Right.”

Cui He was thin and short, with hollow cheeks. In the darkness, he resembled a starving ghost. Suspicion gleamed in his eyes as he picked up a stone from the roadside, tossed it once in his palm, then threw it toward the source of the disturbance.

Clatter!

The moment the stone landed, roaring flames appeared from nowhere. They burned through the air with a violent crackle.

Zhang Zhengchu and Gongshan Yongyuan stared, startled and belatedly afraid.

“A fire-element formation.” Cui He narrowed his eyes.

Who had deliberately placed a formation here?

His sharp gaze swept their surroundings.

Nothing seemed unusual.

“Let’s take a look,” Cui He said, hoping to find a clue inside the formation.

Gongshan Yongyuan and Zhang Zhengchu swallowed nervously and followed him.

They reached the edge of the fire-element formation.

Cui He was just bending down to study it when he sensed something. His expression changed violently.

He sprang upright and shouted, “Get back—bzzzt—bzzzt!”

His voice dissolved into an electric buzz.

Lightning erupted from the formation and struck all three men. Their bodies went rigid and began convulsing in thoroughly ridiculous poses.